chant

[ chant, chahnt ]

/ tʃænt, tʃɑnt /

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See synonyms for: chant / chanted / chanting on Thesaurus.com

noun

a short, simple melody, especially one characterized by single notes to which an indefinite number of syllables are intoned, used in singing psalms, canticles, etc., in church services.

a psalm, canticle, or the like, chanted or for chanting.

the singing or intoning of all or portions of a liturgical service.

any monotonous song.

a song; singing: the chant of a bird.

a monotonous intonation of the voice in speaking.

a phrase, slogan, or the like, repeated rhythmically and insistently, as by a crowd.

verb (used with object)

to sing to a chant, or in the manner of a chant, especially in a church service.

to sing.

to celebrate in song.

to repeat (a phrase, slogan, etc.) rhythmically and insistently.

verb (used without object)

to sing.

to utter a chant.

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Also Obsolete, chaunt

[chawnt, chahnt] /tʃɔnt, tʃɑnt/ .

Origin of chant

First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English chanten, from Middle French chanter, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere “to sing”; (noun) from French chant, from Latin cantus; see canto

OTHER WORDS FROM chant

chant·a·ble, adjectivechant·ing·ly, adverbhalf-chanted, adjectiveun·chant·ed, adjective

Words nearby chant

chanson d'amour, chanson de geste, Chanson de Roland, chansonette, chansonnier, chant, chantage, chantant, Chant de guerre pour l'armée du Rhin, chantefable, chanter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for chant

The heaving bodies, the smashed glass, the chants, the rants — all of those are the easily identifiable markers of civil unrest that we see when CNN covers Belarus, or apparently, Washington.
Many of the images from the Capitol riot showed the terror. One highlighted the smugness.|Monica Hesse|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
If he were in the familiar, comfortable confines of the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas, the cheers and chants would have made complete sense.
It’s Hard Not To Believe In Luka Dončić|Dorothy J. Gentry|December 23, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Wall smiled and wiggled his shoulders in celebration before stepping to the free throw line and completing the four-point play as chants of “M-V-P” rang down from the crowd.
The greatest moments of John Wall’s decade with the Wizards|Scott Allen|December 3, 2020|Washington Post
When a building manager attempted to explain the limit, the crowd shouted him down with chants of “Let us in!”
‘We will not allow anyone to stop us’: Day and night, under historic scrutiny, the nation’s vote counters carried on|Amy Gardner, Reis Thebault, Hannah Knowles, Michelle Lee|November 9, 2020|Washington Post

In another video, the moms sang a common protest chant to the tune of an old lullaby, crooning, “Hands up, please don’t shoot me,” while facing down police in riot gear.
Early members of ‘Wall of Moms’ reflect on where they went wrong as protests in Portland continue|Brooke Henderson|October 6, 2020|Fortune
The owner of the original video of the “dead cops” chant told me it was taken on 32nd Street between 5th and Madison avenues.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The same night the “dead cops” chant was recorded, two police officers were attacked on the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A car parked at a red light honked its horn in rhythm with the chant as the crowd passed in front of it.
‘They Let Him Off?’ Scenes from NYC in Disbelief|Jacob Siegel|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some of the marchers began to chant at the anarchists, reminding them that the movement is bigger than them.
Mexican Protesters Look to Start a New Revolution|Jason McGahan|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chant: Ve-al kulam, Eloha selichot, selach lanu, mechal lanu, kaper lanu.
Jews and Non-Jews Need to Repent for the Sins of the U.S. and Israel|Rabbi Michael Lerner|September 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
L'Occision des chiens est accoste de la tabagie et de ce qui suyt la tabagie, du chant et des danses.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Hence also the word was particularly used to signify any complaint or lament, or a chant at the burial-service.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
Without pausing in his chant—it happened to be one of triumph—without even looking at her, the leader indicated an empty chair.
Hilda|Sarah Jeanette Duncan
The pathos of the chant almost made his listener shrink, so immediate and searching was it.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete|Gilbert Parker
As for sounds, the silence was unbroken save by the chant of the telegraph wires and the crying of the plovers on the waste.
Tales and Fantasies|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for chant

chant

/ (tʃɑːnt) /

noun

a simple song or melody

a short simple melody in which several words or syllables are assigned to one note, as in the recitation of psalms

a psalm or canticle performed by using such a melody

a rhythmic or repetitious slogan, usually spoken or sung, as by sports supporters, etc

monotonous or singsong intonation in speech

verb

to sing or recite (a psalm, prayer, etc) as a chant

to intone (a slogan) rhythmically or repetitiously

to speak or say monotonously as if intoning a chant

Derived forms of chant

chanting, noun, adjectivechantingly, adverb

Word Origin for chant

C14: from Old French chanter to sing, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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